University of Derby Employer Engagement Opportunities
The University of Derby has an embedded culture of real world learning across all our courses. To help support us with this we really value our links with employers locally, regionally and nationally. There are a wide range of options available to employers to be involved in activities within the University which provide access to our student and graduate talent. The Employer Engagement Team is in place to facilitate these relationships and provide guidance on the variety of options available. This document offers an overview but please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team if you require further detail or would like to discuss a more bespoke option.
Work Experience in Curriculum
As part of the Learning and Teaching Strategy, the University includes work experience of at least 30 hours within curriculum of each course in the second year. The range of activities is wide, covering activities from formal practice placements and real-world learning, through to work-based projects. Contact H.Thompson1@derby.ac.uk
Live briefs
Live Briefs provide students with the opportunity to apply skills they have learnt on their course to a live industry context. Organisations are encouraged to provide real problems that require solutions and groups of students tackle these while being overseen by subject tutors. These briefs would cover at least 30 hours. Contact H.Thompson1@derby.ac.uk
Projects
Many courses include opportunities for students to work on real projects with employers. Projects could be a group assignment in a course and supervised by an academic expert or be a student’s dissertation project. We ask employers to provide project subjects with background information alongside timelines for requirements and work with academics to fit these with our course requirements. Contact H.Thompson1@derby.ac.uk
Placements
Placements can be called a number of things; for example a year in industry or a sandwich course. At the University of Derby some programmes have placements formally written into them. Some are optional; however we try to give as many students as possible the option to undertake a placement. These placements have a duration of 9 – 15 months and students usually undertake these between their second and third year of undergraduate study. Contact employerteam@derby.ac.uk
Internships
Internships are increasing in popularity and some organisations use them as a way of recruiting new graduates. Students who successfully complete paid internships during their first or second year may find they have a job offer for when they graduate. Internships are often shorter period of work experience and may take place over the summer break. Contact employerteam@derby.ac.uk
Derby Graduate Internships and Talent Pool
The Derby Internship Scheme is a UoD specific scheme offering our students exclusive internships at local organisations. This scheme offers local SMEs and not for profit organisations an opportunity to gain ESF funding to help finance an 80 or 400 hour intern role within their organisation. Contact employerteam@derby.ac.uk
Graduate roles and vacancy advertising
To help organisations access our talent the Careers and Employment Service has a vacancy portal that any relevant roles can be advertised on, whether this be graduate roles, upcoming schemes, part time work, internships or placements. The Employer Engagement Team can offer practical recruitment support, whether this be uploading roles, shortlisting, and support with interviews or just additional promotion of roles via our social media channels. Contact employerteam@derby.ac.uk
The Student Employment Agency (SEA)
Our Student Employment Agency is the University’s own temporary employment agency, offering an end to end agency solution to external organisations, giving access to our bank of registered students and recent graduates, covering roles from customer service and administration through to research and technical roles. Contact D.K.Dhadli@derby.ac.uk
Events
The University holds a wide range of events throughout the year providing plenty of opportunities for organisations to showcase opportunities on campus. Our main Careers focused event is the GRIP Annual Careers Fair which is held each October, alongside a number of College specific events held in Semester 2 (January to April) this includes our Big Names and Beyond Engineering, Technology and Mathematics Fair. Contact employerteam@derby.ac.uk
Mentoring
Our mentoring scheme is an effective way of sharing your knowledge, developing your coaching and mentoring skills and motivating someone interested in a career in your sector. This established and flexible scheme has been a successful way of introducing students to the world of business; by becoming a mentor, you will help inspire current Derby students or recent graduates to get their future careers on track. Contact f.naismith@derby.ac.uk
Skills and Information Sessions
We are always keen for organisations to come on campus and put on skills or information sessions for our students. These are an excellent way to get involved with the students. They help the students to have an understanding of the skills they need for their job-hunting and future careers and it helps build the students’ understanding of your organisation. Sessions could include: Mock interviews and assessment centres, interview skills, commercial awareness workshop. Contact employerteam@derby.ac.uk
Industry Advisory Board
The University has recently established an Industry Advisory Board which meets three times a year, the intention of the board is to work closer with organisations to develop the skills and attributes in our students that employers are looking for. It is a ‘critical friends’ group and has representation from a wide range of sectors and size of organisations. Contact j.measures@derby.ac.uk
Volunteering
Our Volunteering Team can support registered charities/community organisations to offer extra-curricular volunteering to students and graduates. Our annual Volunteering Fair featured 60+ local and national charities last year and was open to students, graduates and the public who are looking to make an impact in the community. Contact volunteering@derby.ac.uk
Employer Engagement Team Contact Details
Jacqui Measures – Employer and Community Engagement Manager – j.measures@derby.ac.uk
Fiona Naismith – Engagement Manager – f.naismith@derby.ac.uk
Tel: 01332 592939
Email: employerteam@derby.ac.uk
www.derby.ac.uk/access-our-talent
Membership benefits include: regular networking, directory listing, access to training and support, advertising opportunities, discounts on meeting rooms and other facilities.
